One known embodiment of a toy of this type is disclosed in Patent Application No. 9710939.1 in which the control means and article both include at least one magnet therein such that when the article and control means are placed in proximity, with the playbase intermediate, a magnetic field is created which is of sufficient strength so as to cause the article to "follow" the movement of the control means when powered. The control means includes a portion which is exposed to be moved by the child and said movement is translated by a pantograph arrangement to cause linear movement of the housing in which the magnet is contained.
A problem with the known form of control means is that the housing in which the magnet is mounted is only movable in the one, horizontal, plane and so the area of the playbase over which the article can be moved is also required to be substantially planar to ensure that the magnetic field strength is maintained at all times so that the article is still under the influence of the control means.
This restricts the shape of the playbase and hence environment which can be depicted and thus reduces the reaction of the environment depicted.
A second disadvantage is that the conventional control means, due to the arrangement of lever members relative to the portion which can be moved by the child, can only be moved within the bounds of a relatively restricted portion of the playbase. Thus, the article cannot be moved across the whole playbase and so once more the reaction of the toy is affected.